Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol3
by Lollipop456
Summary: Sorry, about using someone's else's title, but it just seemed appropriate. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ENDGAME. As Quill and Nebula carry out a secret mission, tensions run high and romance grows as the Guardians decide to follow the advice of a stowaway. Not my best work or summary. Enjoy nonetheless! Possible Mary-Sue and OOCness.
1. Chapter 1

There was no doubt that the Guardians of the Galaxy were a family. A dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. There were days when they would get along swimmingly, but there were others when the tight quarters and the weeks of drifting mindlessly through space wore down on their nerves. This just happened to be one of those days, supplies was running low and Thor's snoring had kept everyone up for the past few nights. While Peter and Thor were busy, or rather arguing, over navigating the ship; the others were trying to combat boredom through a hand of poker.

"So, remind me again why we're playing this dumb game?" Rocket asked.

"I believe this is meant to be fun." Mantis suggested.

Nebula sighed. "We've been on edge lately; games can help with that. "

Rocket scoffed and looked up at Nebula. "Who told you that?"

Nebula looked at Thor's back and then looked down. "A friend." She said quickly.

The loss of Tony Stark was still fresh in the hearts & minds of everyone, especially Thor. There were days when he blamed himself and chose to wallow in self-pity, causing the wound to reopen for some and cause tension. Nebula knew that was the last thing they needed at the moment.

Drax stifled a yawn. "Four of a kind."

Rocket groaned and laid his cards on the table. "Count me out. I don't give a shit anymore."

The gang looked towards Peter and Thor who seemed to be having a quiet argument.

"What a surprise: they're at it again." Drax said.

Rocket leaned forward. "I'm sick of listening to this pissing contest. It's been two months since everything went down, and we still don't have a clue where we're going." He said quietly.

"I don't believe that they know either." Mantis said.

"I know one thing: if this doesn't stop, I'm going AWOL."

"We're all frustrated, Rocket, but getting mad at Quill and Thor won't get us anywhere. They're just as upset."Nebula said.

"Oh, should we all just sit and hold hands and sing songs about putting on happy faces? When did you start to care about everybody else's feelings, Neb?"

"Maybe it was after I lost my sister for the second time!" Nebula shouted.

Everyone, including Peter and Thor, turned to Nebula in a stunned silence. Nebula stormed off.

"Oh boy." Rocket ran a paw down his face.

"I'll talk to her." Peter said

Peter left and found Nebula sitting in her quarters, looking down at her hands.

"He didn't mean anything by it."

Nebula sighed and leaned back. "I know he didn't. I shouldn't have lost it with him."

Peter sat down next to Nebula. "Losing Stark and having Gamora go missing all on the same day is a tough pill to swallow. Nothing we can do about Tony, but there is something we can do about Gamora."

"Search the entire galaxy until we find her?" Nebula asked, her tone laced with sarcasm.

"What do you think I've been doing this entire time?"

Nebula turned to Peter. "Are you serious? For two months, we've been thinking about how and when our next job is going to be, and you've been deliberately drifting us through the galaxy for a lost cause?"

"Is that what you think it is?"

"I know it is. Before we left New Asgaard, we did all we possibly could. We searched my memories for any clues and asked Danvers to scour the area. Nothing. Not a trace."

"Listen, I know we did all that, but I was thinking that maybe Gamora doesn't want to be found."

Nebula rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"Not just by us, but by everyone. Now, you said before she disappeared that you told her that she had a price on her head."

"She had the right to know."

"Not saying she didn't, but what if learning what Thanos had done and then hearing she was a fugitive was enough to make her paranoid to the point of not wanting to be found; even by complete strangers."

"That's why you've taken us so far out. There are several planets that are practically deserted-"

"And she may be on one of them, or one of the few civilians out here may have seen her."

"Even if this was true. We have to tell the others."

"No! I'm only telling you because you're her sister and I finally realized you have the right to know this."

"Glad you finally came to your senses."

"This is our secret. If the others knew, they'd want to turn the ship around and give up the search."

"We're not the only two who care about Gamora, Quill. They just might be willing to help."

"If they aren't? Are you willing to risk never finding her?" Peter asked.

Nebula seemed to ponder for a moment and then offered her hand to Quill to shake. "Fine. It's our secret." She said.


	2. Chapter 2

As all of the Guardians sat at a makeshift table eating their supper, Rocket couldn't help but notice that Groot was sneaking off with his tray of food.

"Hey, where are you going with that?" Rocket asked.

"I am Groot." Groot moaned.

"To your room? Hey, dinner on this ship is a family thing, park your stump here."

"I am Groot!"

"Don't take that tone with me. You're on this ship, you follow our rules." Rocket argued.

"Let the little tree alone, my friend. He's still young." Thor said.

"He's been doing this for the past week. It's time to draw a line."

"Rocket, no teenager wants to be around adults. It's in their DNA. Go on, Groot."

"I am Groot." Groot said sweetly.

"Thank you, Peter." Rocket said mockingly as Groot left the others.

Once Groot had rounded the corner, he made his way to the boiler room and looked up towards the vents.

"I am Groot!" He called quietly.

Groot stood on the tips of his roots and lifted the tray above his head. A rope lowered down from the vents and Groot tied the rope around it and watched as it was lifted up into the darkness.

"Does anyone know yet?" A female voice asked.

Groot shrugged. "I am Groot."

The female sighed. "That's good. Not sure how much longer it's gonna last though. There's barely any room up here that all the noise I've been making will make them suspcious eventually."

"I am Groot." Groot said dismissively.

The female chuckled. "Hey, not all adults are stupid. You're talking to one right now, right?"

"I am Groot." Groot muttered.

"You'd better leave before they come looking for you."

The tray was lowered back down; Groot took it and left the boiler room as quickly as possible.

A few days went by, and the team was finally getting suspcious of Groot's behavior. He never took his meals with the gang, not even breakfast. He would be found in his room, randomly banging on the ceiling, and if he wasn't being rude and evasive to everyone, then he was smiling and muttering corny jokes to himself. Needless to say, the Guardians decided to have a little talk about him.

"He's going off his rocker. He's been on the ship for too long." Rocket said.

"He's been on the ship for as long as we have, and none of us have gotten cabin fever." Peter argued.

"Not yet." Rocket said under his breath.

"When I'm near him. I can feel this urge in him." Mantis said.

"Urge? Ah, well, that is nothing new for a teenager." Thor chuckled.

"Not in the way you speak of, Thor. He wants to tell us something, but can't. He is scared, or maybe embarassed."

"You think he did something bad?" Rocket asked. "No way. He may be a little smart-ass, but he's good."

Peter looked at Nebula who had been quiet and distracted the entire time. "Nebula, you got any ideas?"

"The boiler room." Nebula said simply.

"What about it?" Drax asked.

"We've all been hearing loud clangs and thuds coming from there, and have chalked it up to the ship needing repairs."

"Well, it does." Rocket said.

"There may be more to it than that. Groot doesn't want us to go in there to even take a look. He keeps on trying to convince us that it's nothing."

"You think he's hiding something in there?" Peter asked.

Nebula shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Peter put the ship on auto, and then he and the rest of the Guardians went down into the boiler room. They looked at the boilers, and all the engines; but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Everything seems to be running on average here." Rocket said.

There was a sudden loud clang from above and the Guardians looked up.

"It's not the engines or the boiler. It's the vents!" Nebula said.

Rocket climbed onto Thor's shoulders and removed the vent's cover. He climbed inside and then let out a sigh.

"Well everyone, I found the problem." Rocket said.

"What is it?" Thor asked.

There was the sound of a struggle as Rocket finally managed to get ahold of the girl and force her to show her dirtied face to everyone.

Peter leaned towards Thor. "Who is it?"


End file.
